Randhir Singh: It was a good overall team performance

U.P. Yoddha suffered a second successive home defeat on Saturday; this one at the hands of Bengaluru Bulls. Bengaluru Bulls were represented at the post-match press-conference by captain Rohit Kumar and coach Randhir Singh while the home side were represented by captain Rishank Devadiga and assistant coach Arjun Singh.

Bengaluru Bulls

Q: You came back well in the second half. What are your thoughts on the game?

Rohit Kumar: We didn’t mind that we were trailing by 5 points at halftime. In the 20 minutes of the second half, our plan was to keep U.P. Yoddha at bay as much as possible and we did that today. I was getting easy points today while Pawan Sehrawat wasn’t. It’s a team game and everyone has to perform. I’m happy with my Super 10 and hopefully, it’s the start of many more to come this season.

Q: You won today despite Pawan Sehrawat being kept quiet. How does this victory feel for your team?

Randhir Singh: It was a very good overall team performance. At halftime, I told the boys to capitalise on the weakness of U.P. Yoddha’s raiders. They had a tendency to rush through their raids. They were leading at halftime so I just told my players to use their impatience against them.

 Q: This season your backup raiders have done well. How much pressure has this taken off you?

Rohit Kumar: Pawan Sehrawat and Kashiling Adake have been the perfect backups. Rather I would say I have been backup to them. Last season, we didn’t have this support in the raiding department and hence most of the raiding responsibilities fell on me. I have never had to tell my team to revive me all throughout this season because our backups have been so strong. Having two good raiders takes a lot of the pressure away and I can play freely.

U.P. Yoddha

Q: What do you have to say about today’s loss?

Arjun Singh: We had come up with a number of plans and looked good to win the game for a long time, but couldn’t. The team was excellent for the first 30 minutes, but we lost some ground in the final 10 minutes and hence lost the game.

Q: You played only the last 6 minutes of the game. Do you think the team would have won if you had played more?

Rishank Devadiga: Our offence was slow in the second half and Bengaluru Bulls took advantage of that to score more points. I was not completely fit and that may have lowered the team’s morale. You need to be there on the mat as the team captain, your physical presence makes a difference to the team.

Q: What were your team’s shortcomings today?

Rishank Devadiga: Our defence has become stronger after Jeeva Kumar’s return. They were fabulous today as well. The fitness of our raiders is affecting the balance of the team. This can happen until the first-choice starting seven are fully fit. But once the team’s balance is set, no one can stop us.